The Game Never Ends
by cosmic-divinity
Summary: Quidditch au that takes place in the hp universe. Yuuri thinks Victor doesn't remember him now that he runs an up and coming national team, but Yuuri is the first player he notices as the open try outs commence. As an average Keeper, can Victor make him into a force to be reckoned with?


_Falling. Falling fast._

That's what Yuuri remembered from most of his practices. He was either just bad in general or the brooms really didn't like him. He probably held the world record for amount of times he had to go to see the nurse during practice. At least that's how it was when he was in school and on the quidditch teams there. Now, he was one of the dime a dozen quidditch players in Japan. One of his goals and dreams was to play for one of the national teams, though he had suffered a huge loss at a previous try out. As always, he had slipped up due to his nervousness. The quaffle had been flying right at him, and instead of using the end of his broom like usual, he hadn't moved in time, and it came careening into his torso, knocking him off his broom and crashing to the ground. Luckily, the captain on the ground spotted him and was able to stop his descent with a levitating spell, but it was safe to say he didn't make the cut after that. Now, he was back in his hometown on Hasetsu in Kyushu, Japan. His family owned a hot spring in the magical district. The women in his family were gifted with fortune telling abilities. His mother and sister often had visions of the future in their dreams, and his mother did fortune telling on the side for extra money. They served magic folks and non magic ones, being sure to keep them separate on two sides of the resort. It sure was different than when he studied abroad at Hogwarts in the U.K. There, it was highly forbidden to perform magic in front of non-magics, but here in Japan, it was more tolerated. The locals were aware of wizards and magic users, but just went about their business as long as they weren't bothered with.

Now, Yuuri was twenty-four, and a certified Keeper by the Japanese Quidditch League. Someone his age should already be on a national team or at least well on their way to, but Yuuri had always had trouble finding his confidence in the heat of the game. He had the potential to be a great Keeper, but always seemed to mess up somehow. Now, he was back home and helping with the hot spring where he could. He was sure his family appreciated the help.

"Yuuri! The Swift Alkonosts are playing!" He heard his mom call from the lounge area.

At just hearing the name of that team, Yuuri rushed into there and immediately sat in front of the TV. His eyes wandered around the screen until he spotted the familiar sheen of silver hair. Victor Nikiforov was the captain of the Swift Alkonosts of Russia. They were one of the top national teams currently finishing up a tournament. This was the final one, and he was sure Victor's team would win as they always did. After this, they'd most likely have a few members retire, and they'd have to find people to fill those spots.

"I hear they're holding try outs after this game. You should go try out, Yuuri. You used to know Victor, didn't you?" Hiroko asked as she was flipping through some tarot cards.

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. I don't think he'd remember me. I mean, I was only at Hogwarts for a year since I was an exchange student. He's amazing and my skills as a Keeper are sub-par. He went onto bigger and better things and is a world famous quidditch player now. There's no way he'd remember me," Yuuri sighed and sipped on the water in front of him. "My magic is sub-par too."

"Now, I know you don't like me telling you your fortunes, but I really think you should go to their open try outs. It's telling me that it'll be good for your future, and I want to see you happy Yuuri. We really do appreciate your help here, but you're always happiest out on your broom."

Yuuri thought about it for a moment. He knew all of his mom's predictions and fortunes came true. He hadn't seen one that failed yet, so it was a convincing argument, but he really didn't think he stood a chance against the competition that also wanted to play for Victor's team. But at this point, it was really go big or go home. Even if he didn't get in, he could always just say he tried out for the Swift Alkonosts.

"You know, if your fortune telling magic is saying so, then..what do I have to lose? Sorry to be leaving again, but the open try outs are in Russia I think. But it's a good thing magic makes travelling a lot faster."

Hiroko smiled in approval and nodded. "Everything is pointing to this being the right choice for you. It'll be good for you to see Victor again after all these years. Now, go pack up. I'll go make a katsudon for this occasion."

A small smile was spread across Yuuri's face as he walked over to his bedroom and opened a small suitcase up. It was enchanted so he could fit as much as he liked in it. It was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Since his broom was one of his most prized possessions, Yuuri put it in its own travel case, choosing to carry it separately from the suit case. Along with the essentials and clothes, he made sure to pack his quidditch gear in there and whatever else he might need. It certainly was an impromptu trip, but this was one of those once in a lifetime chances. He wasn't sure how much of a chance he had since try outs with other teams hadn't exactly gone..well. But maybe, just maybe, having Victor be the captain of this team would help, though Yuuri wasn't sure how it would. He wasn't expecting Victor to recognize him. He was prepared to just be another random applicant and maybe by some miracle he'd get noticed, and that'd have to be one big miracle.

Yuuri arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia the next day at about ten in the morning there. He made sure to take the fastest ride possible in the magical world. It was certainly..much colder here even for the spring time. Even with a small warming spell, he still found himself shivering slightly in his large coat. He had a few hours to spare with the open try outs starting around one in the afternoon. So, this was Victor's homeland. It certainly was beautiful despite the cold and luckily it wasn't supposed to snow until in the evening, meaning the air would be nice and clear for quidditch. Still, Yuuri preferred to be prepared, so he went over to the large stadium that was near impossible to miss. He registered himself ahead of time, indicating his name and such along with the preferred position to be played. Yuuri wasn't expecting to be accepted into the team, so he booked a hotel room to stay in, going straight there to unload his luggage and got his quidditch gear in order. While digging through his stuff, he noticed an old photo that fluttered out of his suit case. Picking it up, his eyes went wide as it was a picture he had gotten taken with Victor when they were at Hogwarts. Victor's hair was long back then. He had it up in a ponytail in the picture with a fleece head wrap to keep his ears warm. He had an arm around Yuuri as they posed for the picture with the snow slowly falling around them. Yuuri always remembered that time, and Victor noting how the snow fell so slowly. It felt like they were in a snow globe. Yuuri found himself smiling as he slipped it into his pocket as a good luck charm of sorts along with the actual good luck charm his mom had gave him.

"Alright, it's now or never."

The stadium was already packed with people. Some were applicants while others came just to watch the open try outs. Yuuri supposed they were rather entertaining. Each applicant was assigned to different games on the schedule. They'd play a match, and the captain, aka Victor, and the current members of the team would watch and assess who they would take in. Yuuri's heart was practically pounding out of his chest as he heard his name called for the next match. He was given a colored tag to wear to indicate which team he was on. He dug his thumb nail into the wood of his broom as he walked with the others out onto the field. There was one thing Yuuri never got tired of and that was the roar of the crowd as the team entered the field. It was something he found craving in the pit of his stomach every time. As they flew up, Yuuri took the position of Keeper right in front of the three goals. As the Keeper, he wore heavy padded gloves to protect his hands. For more protection, he casted protective spells over his torso in case anything ran into him.

He found his eyes inadvertently peering over at the viewing box to his left. He couldn't quite see the people inside, but he knew Victor was in there watching, and just thinking about that sent a chill down his spine.

"Oi! Keeper!" Yuuri shook his head as he heard someone calling him.

He looked over to see a young Russian with blonde hair flying up towards him. By his gear, he looked to be a Seeker, and from the scowl on his face, he didn't look overly happy.

"Uh, y-yes?" Yuuri squeaked out, instinctively floating back a bit.

"You better not mess this up for anyone on this team. The Keeper is basically the anchor. So, you better block every shot as I'm chasing the Snitch around, got that? Nikiforov is watching, and I'm not going to have an amateur Keeper mess this up."

He poked at Yuuri's chest at nearly every word, looking right at him with unrelenting green eyes.

"Um, yeah, of course. Wouldn't dream of it! Uh, my name is Yuuri Katsuki by the way," Yuuri stammered, floating back even more.

"Yuri Plisetsky. And you have to earn a hand shake from me," he spat before flying towards the center as the game was about to begin.

Well, that was certainly an interesting way to begin the match. Yuuri shook his head as he tried to find his focus again. Now, he not only had to try to impress Victor, but this other Yuri now too.

From the box seats, Victor was handed a roster with the applicants for this match before taking a seat in the front row. With some enchanted binoculars, he took a look at each one, looking to them and then their application sheet.

"Looks like we have some interesting ones for this match," he noted but froze when he reached a sheet that read "Yuuri Katsuki."

Now, there's a name he hadn't heard in a while. He quickly searched near the goals and found him floating there with a rather determined look on his face.

 _So, you've finally come back to me, Yuuri. You probably think I've forgotten about you, but you're harder to forget than you think._

With a motion of his hand, he indicated that he was ready for the match to start. He made sure to keep an eye on all the players, but he couldn't help but focus on Yuuri, blue eyes shining in interest.


End file.
